Several neighborhoods in Shanghai, China, were put back into lockdown just a day after citywide restrictions ended, as China’s strict zero Covid strategy continues to haunt the financial hub.
Shanghai lifted its two-month lockdown on Wednesday, allowing most of its 25 million residents to leave their communities. But nearly 2 million people were still confined to their homes in areas designated as “high risk” by the government.
In a press conference Thursday, Shanghai officials said seven new cases of Covid-19 had been detected in the city’s Jing’an and Pudong districts, resulting in four districts being quickly isolated and designated as ” medium risk areas” – meaning residents will be confined to their homes for 14 days.
His 26 close contacts and 106 secondary contacts have been quarantined by the government and more than 470,000 people have been tested, according to officials.
The rollback to lockdown is the latest reminder that despite the easing of restrictions, the government’s zero Covid policy – comprised of mass testing, extensive quarantine and instant lockdowns – will continue to dominate everyday life.
While Shanghai businesses and stores have been allowed to reopen and the subway and buses have resumed services, residents still need a negative Covid-19 test done within 72 hours to use public transport and enter public spaces.
The sense of joy and relief at the lifting of the lockdown among residents soon turned to mounting frustration as long lines formed at test sites across the city throughout Wednesday and Thursday.
Some stretched hundreds of meters in the scorching heat of the Chinese summer and others lasted well into the night, according to videos posted by residents on social media. A testing site has posted a notice warning residents that the wait could be four and a half hours.
Shanghai officials acknowledged the problem on Thursday and apologized for the long wait, citing a lack of resources and facilities – despite the authorities having built more than 10,000 test sites and trained thousands of workers for the job.
Some of the test sites were not put into operation, while others only opened for a short time during the day and were understaffed, officials said, promising to improve the situation.
Many residents are still haunted by fears of a new lockdown. On Thursday morning, crowds were filmed fleeing the International Finance Center shopping mall in Lujiazui’s financial district after the establishment suddenly barred people from entering or leaving – a common practice in places where positive cases are found, according to with videos circulating on social media.
The mall later issued a notice saying it had reopened at 12:30 pm, after carrying out a thorough disinfection, without confirming that there was a positive Covid-19 case at the site.
Shanghai’s poorly managed lockdown has led to widespread food shortages and lack of access to medical care, causing a wave of anger and frustration among residents. But China’s leader Xi Jinping has vowed to continue with the zero Covid policy even as the rest of the world learns to live with the virus and move forward with the pandemic.
On Thursday, the People’s Daily – the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece – declared on its front page that “the battle to protect Shanghai has achieved great achievements in phases” under Xi’s leadership.
“Shanghai is actively exploring new mechanisms for normalized prevention and control in the megacity and accelerating the return of economic and social development to the normal path,” he said.
With information from Reuters.
Source: CNN Brasil
